UC Berkeley returns to U.S. News' best university rankings after false reporting snafu

Students on the campus of UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif., on August 27, 2019.

Students on the campus of UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif., on August 27, 2019.

Photo: Kate Munsch / Special To The Chronicle

Photo: Kate Munsch / Special To The Chronicle

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Students on the campus of UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif., on August 27, 2019.

Students on the campus of UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif., on August 27, 2019.

Photo: Kate Munsch / Special To The Chronicle

UC Berkeley returns to U.S. News' best university rankings after false reporting snafu

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UC Berkeley is back in the good graces of the collegiate kingmakers behind the U.S. News and World Report's annual ranking of the nation's top universities. The news comes not long after the publication discovered the school (along with the University of Oklahoma) had been misreporting alumni donation data since at least 2014.

The rankings are based on a number of factors, as U.S. News details on its site. A large portion of each college's score — 35% — depends on how successful the school is at "retaining and graduating students." Another 20% is dedicated to scoring each school's faculty resources, including class size and faculty salary. Another 20% is decided by "experts" in the field, including university provosts, presidents and deans. Additional scores for financial resources offered and student excellence are weighted 10% each, and a score for a final 5% is related to alumni giving.

In any case, U.S. News was quick to forgive Cal's snafu; by the time the annual rankings for 2020 were released Monday, Cal had returned to a top-25 position on the national list (No. 22), and the No. 2 position on the best public universities list in the U.S, after UCLA.

Cal wasn't the only Bay Area university to earn plaudits; Stanford tied with the University of Chicago and the University of Pennsylvania at the No. 6 position for 2020.